“When will Raleigh... arrive?”
“Baron Walter Raleigh of Roanoke reached Plymouth a few days ago, so he should arrive in London within the week.”
“...Very well. Leave me. I have matters to ponder.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Elizabeth slowly looked up at the papers on the table and dismissed the attendant.
And then.
“Hooooo...”
She sank into thought.
Raleigh would arrive soon.
Raleigh had originally been a young lover nineteen years her junior who brought her “special pleasures,” as well as a convenient pawn with many uses.
But after the Virginia Colony was developed in earnest, his position had changed completely.
A bridge connecting Elizabeth and the Native Emperor, a diplomat, the Queen’s envoy.
She did not know exactly what had occasioned it, but according to reports from various sources, Raleigh seemed to be basking in the Emperor’s favor.
Thus, it was only right to go through Raleigh to contact the “Emperor.” After all, he was the only person who traveled regularly between Virginia and England.
Trade with Virginia was completely monopolized by him.
‘...The abolition of slavery. The Native Emperor has surely extended his hand to me.’
Since he had gone this far, she would clarify her relationship with him through Raleigh this time. She had welcomed him into the Christian world with a grand ceremony befitting a coronation; now it was time to advance further.
When she had granted Raleigh the title of Baron of Roanoke and subtly probed, the Emperor had accepted it without much resistance.
Judging by that, he had clearly “bestowed” Roanoke Island and a few small parcels of land upon the English.
As for the remaining vast lands, the English had likely been “permitted” to reside within the Emperor’s territory, and she would organize it accordingly.
The English would be permitted to live in his country under his protection, and the area around Roanoke Island would be treated like the residence of Raleigh, dispatched as her ambassador.
Thus she would define the territory of the “Virginia Colony” and the relationship between the two nations.
As a firm alliance.
In that he opposed Spain and thwarted Spanish hegemony, he was like the Netherlands, which waged a war of independence against Spain.
And in that he provided strategic materials like timber and ships, he was like the Protestant allies to the north, Sweden or Denmark.
Though she had never even seen the “Emperor’s” face, he was now her major ally. An ally who stood against Spain alongside her, who sustained England’s economy alongside her.
Without Virginia, things would have been far more difficult than they were now.
Even now, her head was throbbing.
No matter how much she resold luxury goods from Virginia far and wide, or exported various goods to Virginia, the current surplus was barely being maintained.
Above all, the shortage of timber was the greatest.
England was an island nation, and what an island nation needed most during war were warships and cannons.
Warships and cannons were made of timber and iron, and iron required massive amounts of fuel to produce, so ultimately securing timber was crucial.
And England’s forests had long since been exhausted.
Thus she had been relying on imports from abroad for timber, iron ingots, and a considerable number of ships.
Expenditure on ships among those was expected to decrease significantly. She had been able to import vessels cheaply from the Virginia shipyards.
But what of iron? Iron was used for farming tools, armor and various cold steel weapons, as well as cannons, chains, and anchors...
It was still lacking.
The gold she had barely earned was flowing out again to the northern European countries to make up for that shortfall. It was enough to make one’s teeth grind.
Raleigh... had to come quickly.
The queen clicked and ground her teeth in thought. It was a spectacle that would have horrified Miss Lawrence, who had taken the trouble of preparing gum pain relievers and toothpaste for the Queen.
‘His display of revulsion toward slavery is undoubtedly a declaration of war against Spain.’
Raleigh’s attitude when mentioning the “Emperor,” the statements of the “Saintess” she met every morning, and all other circumstances... made it clear that he was extremely well-versed in European affairs.
Therefore, he had surely proposed this to Drake after taking into account England’s position, Spain’s strength, the relations between the two kingdoms, and so on.
Considering the situation in which England’s slave trade had quieted while Spain’s slave trade was more active than ever.
To build a casus belli against Spain.
If not, what reason would he have to take interest in slavery across the sea?
Because he is a good person?
‘He has surely set his mind on opposing Spain. And he has decided to draw England into his war.’
Then she would have to match her steps to the beat he played.
What if England... provided strategic materials to him as he prepared for war?
At the same time, a solution to England’s iron shortage came to the Queen’s mind.
Virginia had abundant timber, so she had established shipyards there.
Then, what if she built an ironworks in Virginia?
Yes. She would send miners and blacksmiths to jointly develop iron ore with the “Emperor.”
Elizabeth slowly read over the phrases written on the flyers lying across the table.
—‘The Virginia Trading Company seeks skilled artisans.
—Blacksmiths, goldsmiths, miners, bricklayers, tanners, farmers, etc. Inquiries welcome.’
Blacksmiths... were listed first. Indeed, Raleigh had recruited a large number of blacksmiths and taken them to the New World.
That meant the supply of iron ore in that land was clearly favorable!
Virginia could fill the resource most lacking in England!
She would gift artisans and an ironworks to the Emperor’s territory, and share in the yield from that land.
He would surely welcome it. After all, he would receive iron to use in the war against Spain.
Thinking so, the Queen waited for Raleigh with her neck craned.
She could not even guess the reason Raleigh had called for blacksmiths first.
She had never imagined that in Virginia, there was simply an inexhaustible spring of steel.
Naturally, it was not her fault.
***
As someone who had studied world history in Korea, I knew a few facts.
Britain is the country that created the most independence days in the world.
And it was the first country in the world to go to war to sell drugs.
For now, we are allies, but seeing what they did to Spain... uhh... I’ve got nothing to say. A country that gives noble titles for doing piracy well.
Britain is basically imperialism, and imperialism is basically Britain, isn’t it? A remarkable country that massacred enough people in Ireland and India to found several nations.
...Or so I had thought.
“Uh... so... England abolished slavery?”
“So it seems. Her Majesty the Queen has... deeply abhorred slavery... from the beginning... apparently...”
“...”
“...*Ahem.*”
See? You’re coughing to avoid saying anything too, because you’ve got nothing to say.
Have a conscience. I saw it in the *Immortal Order* catalog too. Queen Elizabeth personally sponsored slave traders and invested directly in the trade, so who is she trying to fool?
Anyway, Raleigh—torn between my suspicious gaze and his loyalty to his lover, the Queen—coughed and averted his eyes.
“Anyway... isn't it fine as long as the result is good?”
“Well, that’s... true.”
“Isn't it a beautiful thing regardless?”
Raleigh was right. A good outcome is a good outcome.
Life doesn’t always go according to reason. Even a villain might perform a good deed by accident, like a cow backing up and catching a mouse, and an act born of evil intent can produce good results.
Let’s just say this is one of those cases.
After speaking with Raleigh, who had briefly returned from England, I tried my best to come to terms with the current situation.
It’s a good thing, right? Even from the ethical perspective of a twenty-first-century Korean, there’s nothing to criticize.
...No, I’ll take that back. I suppose the ethical sensibilities of a twenty-first-century Korean don’t exactly condone piracy.
For now, let’s just say it went well and move on. There are plenty of other matters to worry about.
“Walter, tell me about the next matter.”
“Her Majesty has sent fifty blacksmiths and fifty miners. She says she wishes to establish an ironworks here.”
“Pardon?”
“...No, I wanted to tell her that there aren’t even any iron mines here. But we had already taken so many iron goods over there.”
“...”
Well, it would indeed be absurd.
We had taken aluminum foil and syringe needles to London, yet there were no iron mines here?
To Elizabeth, it must have sounded like claiming, “We have nuclear power plants, nuclear submarines, and nuclear bombs, but actually we don’t have any uranium.”
Even I thought that was bullshit. I perfectly understood Raleigh’s position.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. There is an open-pit mine on Roanoke Island.”
“How did you know— No. There are indeed things beyond human ken.”
I had only learned it from the game catalog.
Well, I didn’t know what kind of company HwangSuk Soft had become, but considering they sent people to the past and shamelessly sold DLC in pieces, they were indeed beyond human wisdom.
Anyway.
“Walter, take the artisans to Roanoke Island for now.”
Roanoke Island would be perfect for Queen Elizabeth’s ironworks.
For one, it is far from both Croatoan Island and the Chesapeake Bay, and being an island, it is easy for us to control the personnel.
“Her Majesty asked how it would be to split the produced iron half and half. She said I must inquire after Lord Nemo’s intentions before proceeding.”
“I have no objection. It’s more free resources. However...”
“However?”
“Why an ironworks of all things? Is iron so scarce that you must procure it even from here?”
“...Yes. I am afraid so.”
Raleigh spoke with a sigh.
“It is England’s chronic ailment. A lack of timber. We must pour out enormous sums importing timber and iron ingots from Sweden and Denmark.”
“Hmm?”
“No matter how much I think about it... the war with Spain seems to have been a mistake.”
As Raleigh gave his brief explanation, it mingled with what I knew.
At first, it had been good. They could suck out vast fortunes from Spain’s colonies through piracy. After crushing the Invincible Armada, nothing could stop them.
...Usually, world history classes only teach up to this point.
So England won this war, seized Atlantic hegemony, and laid the foundations to become a global hegemon, while Spain fell and slowly rolled down to become a second-rate nation.
But according to the detailed contents in *Immortal Order*, the truth was different. As expected of HwangSuk Soft—their historical research was excellent.
In fact, England hadn’t particularly won, hadn’t seized Atlantic hegemony, and Spain hadn’t rolled down to become a second-rate nation.
Modern Britons had simply agreed to forget the unpleasant parts of history.
Things like attempting a counterattack on Spain immediately after defeating the Armada, only to be thoroughly trounced and flee.
Or how, after Elizabeth I died and James I ascended, they barely managed to sign a truce by making huge concessions to Spain.
It felt somewhat like a high school bully laundering their middle school days spent as a loser nerd.
So...
“England is losing ground, you mean.”
“Yes... It’s hardly a story that needs denying.”
Raleigh spoke with a sigh.
I was slightly taken aback.
‘Wh-what the... It’s even more serious than what was written in the game catalog?’
Unlike the game catalog written under the firm premise that England was a future hegemon, the words coming from a contemporary’s mouth were far more brutally honest.
Spain was the strongest power.
And would remain so for decades to come.
But for England to become the strongest power, she would have to wait another two hundred years.
...Somehow, it felt like I had bought stock in an unlisted company based solely on the promise that it would rise.
Are we really being properly protected from Spain? If we become even slightly more of an eyesore, won’t the Spanish navy grab us like mice?
“Do... do not worry! England may be small, but she is a great nation! England has Sir Drake, and likewise the right foot and left foot of the great admiral John Hawkins— ah, this gentleman is dead.”
“In any case, England possesses the great spirit of the Britons, passed down from King Arthur himself! Do you think Richard the Lionheart and Edward the Black Prince appeared for no reason?”
Right. And you’re the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons who killed those Britons.
And the fact that this somehow sounds familiar makes me even more uneasy.
Ah, don’t tell me the butterfly effect of history is going to produce something like “England’s Virginia Colony (1588–15nn, destroyed by a Spanish invasion),” and England collapses after overinvesting in it.
No. If that happens, I’ll be treated as “what used to be an angel” and burned at the stake. I probably won’t even die from it, so I’ll just burn forever.
England has to survive.
“About that… foundry. Spare no support for it, Walter.”
“Pardon? Well, of course…”
“No, I mean pour in about one and a half to two times the resources you’re thinking of.”
“…”
“Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, I understand.”
After saying that, Raleigh withdrew to inspect the iron mines on Roanoke Island. I wiped away my cold sweat for no reason and leaned back against my chair.
Yeah… I just hope nothing happens.
Anyway, even if the craftsmen from England build a foundry, what can they really make? At best, with their lacking technology, they’ll make steel or cheap cast iron. Right. If it’s just that much…
‘…Wait, cast iron alone has a lot of uses, doesn’t it?’
Oh…
This might help the settlement more than I thought?
***
“By now, our craftsmen should have arrived. Is that not so, Sir Cecil?”
At the queen’s words, William Cecil, England’s Lord Privy Seal and Lord Treasurer, bowed at the waist and spoke.
“Indeed, Your Majesty. Since it is clear that the emperor of those New World lands is preparing for war, the Spaniards will soon find themselves facing armies armed with English iron throughout Nueva España.”
“I am pleased that your thoughts align with mine, my lord.”
The corners of the queen’s lips curved sharply upward.
“That Felipe of Spain will have many worries indeed.”
She could already see it clearly: the “emperor,” armed with weapons made by English craftsmen, leading armies of thousands, tens of thousands, to overrun the Spanish settlements.
That foundry would be both sword and shield offered by the queen to her ally, and a sharp dagger thrust at her enemy.
She was already beginning to enjoy herself.
Just what weapons would the emperor forge and wield from newly smelted iron?
***
My prediction was roughly correct.
“Over here! Whoever ordered the hinges, come out!”
“Oh my, it’s a cast-iron pot!”
Cast iron is cheap, easier to make than steel, and, just as the name suggests, well suited for casting.
Thus, though it may not be suitable for items like weapons where strength is vital, most daily necessities can be made from cast iron.
For example, cauldrons, pots, and various tableware.
Or hinges and locks.
In that sense, once the foundry was built, the lives of the settlers in our community gradually grew more comfortable.
And that was not all.
“So… we just assemble this?”
“Yeah. It came out more or less exactly as ordered.”
When making the automatic water pump, I’d been troubled because parts like the boiler chamber couldn’t be cast in one large piece.
But now, not only the boiler chamber but also large-scale machine components like the crank’s flywheel could be easily cast.
At the smithies in our Chesapeake Bay, whenever casting work was needed, or whenever we needed parts that did not require precise machining or high strength, we could outsource them to the craftsmen Elizabeth had sent.
In this way, the quality and productivity of the machines placed throughout our settlement also improved.
But even that was not the key point.
Not the key point at all.
Clack.
My newly acquired cast-iron skillet.
Thunk.
My newly acquired cast-iron Dutch oven.
And all sorts of camping equipment.
I set up the NorXsk camping tent, lights, chairs, and so on that I’d bought back when Shine Muscat was selling well, then lit a fire. Naturally, I lit it with a camping fire stick.
Once the fire was going, the Dutch oven and skillet set over it began to sizzle, and white steam rose at the same time. When I brought my face closer, the steam clung to my skin, carrying a delicious aroma.
“Smells good…”
Sitting in a folding chair that had cost a full 120,000 won, resting my feet on the grass and looking up at the sky, I saw so many stars scattered across the spring night sky that they seemed ready to pour down.
Ah… this is nice.
In the distance, insects chirped; nearby, music flowed from a portable amp. Since this was, after all, the countryside of America (not yet existing), I’d put on some country music.
I dozed off like that, then woke to the alarm on my phone and opened the lid of the Dutch oven.
“Oh.”
A golden-brown oven-roasted lobster was finished.
I placed butter on top and let it melt gently, then flipped the beef steak on the skillet.
The most important change brought about by the new foundry.
It was that I could now order loads of camping equipment I had never been able to afford in the 21st century.
After hurriedly devouring the piping-hot lobster with butter fresh from the oven, I opened a bottle of 1592-vintage Imjin War edition wine and poured it into a glass.
Then I sliced into the steak without hesitation… and put it in my mouth. With wine to accompany it.
Ah.
‘Long live Queen Elizabeth.’
That’s right. England was not actually a pirate nation…! There is no way a country that bestowed such grace could have done such wicked things.
Clearly, when an English ship happened to pass by, the Spanish sailors must have thrown their treasure chests overboard and dived into the sea on their own.
Those evil Spaniards, as expected. To think they would falsely accuse the innocent English…!
Anyway, enough nonsense.
I heard a rustling sound and looked over to see Virginia striding toward me, drawn by the smell of food.
Eleanor hurried after her to catch her, but I stopped her and shared some lobster with the two of them as well.
There was plenty of lobster anyway.
If you just fumbled around a little in the sea nearby, you could catch lobsters. There were about three more in the bucket right now.
…
…
…
Is this what life is?
Crunch. Ah, hot, hot…
Mm. Mmm.
Wild lobster is delicious.
Beef is even more delicious.
This is exactly why I time-slipped.